Hydrometeorological relationships in a glacierized catchment in the Canadian high arctic

Abstract

AbstractRunoff from a small glacierized catchment in the Canadian high Arctic was monitored throughout one melt season. The stream discharge record is one aspect of a larger project involving glacier mass balance, superimposed ice formation and local climate on a glacier in the Sawtooth Range, Ellesmere Island, Northwest Territories, Canada. To better understand the main factors influencing the production of runoff on the glacier during the period of main summer melt, regression analyses were performed relating daily air temperature, shortwave incoming and net radiation, absorptivity and wind speed to daily glacier discharge. Air temperature at the glacier meteorological station on rain‐free days is the element with the greatest correlation with runoff (r2 = 0.57; n = 34). A multiple regression of discharge with air temperature, shortwave incoming radiation, net radiation hours and wind speed achieved the best fit (r2 = 0.84; n = 34). Rain events (> 10mmd−1) can dominate daily discharge when they occur during the period of ice melt, creating more runoff per unit area than can be produced by melt alone, and significantly reduce the accuracy of runoff predictions.